By the time Ji Jue, wearing a face as sour as vinegar, saw Tianlu once more, evening had already set in.
"Cough, cough... Y-you're here?"
Lying on a reclining chair, looking deathly pale as though hovering on his last breath, Tianlu lifted his head. Watching Ji Jue stride boldly inside with his chest puffed out, he offered a strained smile.
Ji Jue didn't give a damn about him.
Dropping his rear straight into a seat, Ji Jue began helping himself to the fruit platter in front of him. "What are you pretending for, old dog!"
"Ji Jue, how could you speak to your grandmaster like that!"
Tianlu's pupils trembled with utter grief. "You haven't come to see me for so long. Do you have any idea how broken your grandmaster's heart is?"
"Really? Pull it out and let me see."
Ji Jue, the faint traces of bruises still lingering on his face, was furious enough to laugh. "The damn second I got back to Tianshu, my teacher showed up at my door and lectured me non-stop for a whole week. You wouldn't happen to have any clue about that, would you?!"
"Is that so? Then the bond between master and disciple is quite heartwarming indeed," Tianlu barked, nodding along smoothly.
"Oh, absolutely."
Ji Jue sneered. "I love my teacher, and my teacher loves me. Our lineage values being close as family and harmonious above all else. Is a certain forsaken grandmaster about to shed a few envious little pearly tears?"
Tianlu kept smiling as he looked at him, his expression growing all the merrier. "Then she must have truly loved those little surprises and gadgets you cooked up, eh?"
*You old dog, you—*
Ji Jue's fists clenched tight.
Only then did he realize that the orange he had just peeled had vanished straight into the old dog's mouth, accompanied by loud smacks and enthusiastic chews.
"How does it feel, Ji Jue?"
Tianlu asked abruptly, "Between Ji Jue's achievements and Lu Changsheng's achievements, which stands higher?"
Unmoved, Ji Jue peeled another orange and countered, "What achievements could Lu Changsheng possibly have? Nothing more than digging up an outdated heap of trash from the archives, strapping on a bunch of bombs, and making a nuisance of himself to everyone. If this world were even slightly more normal, where would he have had room to flex his muscles? And what achievements does Ji Jue have to speak of either? Merely a stroke of luck—a time devoid of heroes, allowing a nobody to make a name for himself. Put anyone else in my shoes, and would it have been any different?"
"How harsh."
Tianlu asked, "Isn't your assessment of yourself a bit too low?"
"Looking up at an unreachable peak, one can only feel ashamed of one's shortcomings."
Ji Jue fell silent for a moment, then sighed softly from the bottom of his heart. "Compared to the achievements and spirit of Carrion Eater, what am I? Nothing worth mentioning."
"Barely two years into being an artisan, and you're already overreaching to compare yourself with Carrion Eater? Ambitious!"
Tianlu burst into hearty laughter. "If the old lady heard that, she might even take back calling me arrogant. Compared to you, the venerable Tianlu practically counts as humble and open-minded!"
Before Ji Jue could reply, he asked again, "If you had to choose?"
"Huh?"
"If you were the one choosing right now—" Tianlu asked curiously, "would you want to be Ji Jue, or would you want to be Lu Changsheng?"
Ji Jue rolled his eyes and cut him a side glance. "Then do you want to be the Juzi, or do you want to be Tianlu?"
"Heh, why can't I be both?"
Tianlu gave a slight shrug and shook his head in mock regret. "But can you?"
*Fine, here goes the dog barking again.*
"As Lu Changsheng, the whole world is your enemy, yet you are bound by no taboos. With a lever's touch you sway the grand board, reducing everyone to puppets hopelessly ensnared in your vortex. As Ji Jue, your prospects are boundless, yet you dwell in a cage, constrained on every side, maneuvering and twisting within established rules until you can hardly breathe—no matter how lofty your talent or how exquisite your creations, you remain bound by the physical world and yourself, never truly your own master."
Tianlu turned back and looked at him. "I am not asking you to pick one over the other, nor do I expect you to balance both. I simply hope you understand which one matters most. You did very well in the Seven Cities this time. Even without Lu Changsheng, the creations of Ji Jue would still have come out on top. Perhaps Lu Changsheng can accomplish many things, but there are certain things you can do as Ji Jue that Lu Changsheng never could."
He added, "If a day comes when such a choice is truly set before you, you must understand what you are casting aside."
"If I had a choice, who the hell would want to be that wretched Lu Changsheng?"
Ji Jue retorted without a second thought. "Are you telling me that if I don't become some saint who purges evil, I'll amount to nothing in this life?"
At that, Tianlu chuckled silently, full of delight.
Wasn't what he admired and marveled at precisely this genuine resolve from deep within, and an arrogance that surpassed even his own?
He waved a hand, signaling that Ji Jue could leave, but Ji Jue did not move.
Tossing aside the peels and scraps in his hands, he sat up straight and solemn.
"Tianlu?"
"Hmm?"
Ji Jue looked at him and asked suddenly, "Do you hate this world?"
The question made Tianlu's smile freeze. In the brief pause that followed, he shook his head and let out a self-deprecating sigh. "At best, I simply can't bring myself to like it."
"Back when I was an ordinary man, watching this world, I often wondered how nice it would be if someone stepped up to change all this. After becoming an artisan, I suddenly felt that perhaps I was that person, that I ought to do something. Yet after becoming Tianlu, when I was clearly capable of great things, I ended up mediocre and busy with trifles instead, warped beyond recognition until I could barely stomach the sight of myself."
He sighed with lingering emotion and looked at Ji Jue, full of expectation. "You need to keep at it."
"You mean, don't end up like you?"
Taken aback by such earnest expectation, Ji Jue was momentarily lost for words. But then he heard Tianlu's voice:
"No, I mean keep at it and hurry to catch up with me, so you can become just like me and repeat the same mistakes sooner. That way, when the time comes, I can hand you a little red ball and laugh at the clown."
Ji Jue rolled his eyes, utterly done with talking.
Expecting ivory out of a dog's mouth—he must have really lost his mind.
He waved his hand, got up, and turned to leave.
Reaching the door, he spun right back around, swept up the entire fruit platter from the table, and carried it off—since he had already come, how could he go home empty-handed? What did this old dog know about eating fruit anyway?
Leaving behind a final gesture of 'blessing,' he turned on his heel and departed.
Then, half an hour later at the Association's award ceremony, he saw that obnoxious face once again.
"Keep up the good work, young man."
Tianlu reached out before the entire crowd, stroking his head with a beaming grin. "Keep pressing forward; don't slack off now."
And under the witness of everyone present, he placed a violet-gold Crown of Glory upon his head.
Worse yet, Ji Jue had to squeeze out a radiant smile to show gratitude and modesty. As for accidentally stepping on the Grandmaster's foot during the commemorative photo, that was purely an accident—the boy was still young, so don't take it to heart.
Amid the snap of the shutter, a brand-new record was born.
Becoming an artisan within two years, becoming a Master within two years, and then clinching his first Crown of Glory within a single month of becoming a Master on the back of undisputed achievements and combat records.
Rising like a rocket, Ji Jue was henceforth the embodiment of new milestones in the Association, the nightmare of countless peers, and the beacon that all apprentices and artisans looked up to.
Only...
"It doesn't feel very real."
Ji Jue fiddled with the Crown of Glory in his hand, weighing it a couple of times without much interest.
With this thing, Master Ji was now one of the preeminent figures of the entire physical world. He had vaulted from the hot new prodigy of Embers to an established authority of the land, one of the supreme elites of the Association. From now on, even if he met the President of the Federation or the Emperor of the Empire, he wouldn't need to bow, and anyone who dealt with him would have to treat him with utmost courtesy.
If Master Zhou saw this toy, his eyes would probably well up, crying pearly tears on the spot.
When he saw Lou Feng later, he would surely see that unmistakable deference in his posture, calling him 'Master' from across the thick barrier dividing good friends.
Pity that the deadbeat salted-fish was nowhere to be found, having even preemptively blocked his number. But that didn't matter—he could always tell her in person and replay the 4K recording of the ceremony for her, frame by frame, so she could study and appreciate Master Ji's towering character and noble spirit.
Yet in the end, tossing the crown up and catching it again, he still felt nothing more than average.
Snapping back to his senses, he realized the ceremony had long ended, and he had strolled once again onto Tianshu Plaza.
He looked up, gazing upon the towering monument.
Compared to his own petty accomplishments, this was a truly sublime achievement.
Even though Tianlu had mocked him before, he still couldn't help but wonder: how far were his own achievements from such magnificent creations?
Such an immense chasm was simply too vast.
Yet surprisingly, he felt no despair.
Even in the long night, Tianshu remained brilliant. Looking up, he could once again catch a glimpse of that faint ray of light descending from the heavens in the reflection of the stone monument.
Even now, it felt hard to believe: they had met only once, yet someone had believed in his future so resolutely and staked her guarantee on him.
And to this day, the blessings and hopes of the forerunner still lingered around him.
He lowered his head, gazing at the Crown of Glory in his hands.
Amid the recast of alchemy, the radiant crown silently dissolved. A brilliant stream of light flowed and shifted, ultimately blooming into the shape of a flower, glowing with a soft, gentle luminescence.
Quietly, he set it down before the monument.
Even now, he could not say for sure what the future held. Perhaps he would still struggle between possession and emptiness, and perhaps this world would remain hard to love...
Yet living in this world, one had to accomplish something, didn't they?
"The distant future is simply too far away, old lady,"
he whispered his farewell. "So let us begin from right now."
The next day, the Ring of Taiyi Association officially issued an announcement to all artisans.
The brand-new modern theory submitted by the newly crowned Master Ji Jue—*Three-Phase Alchemy*—had completed registration and verification. Following a vote by the Board of Directors, it was officially recognized and archived in the Great Library.
From that moment on, the Three-Phase lineage would be recognized as an orthodox school of Embers within the Association, circulating through the physical world.
At the same time, at the request and authorization of Master Ji Jue, the collated and adapted version of Three-Phase Alchemy would fully open its fundamental theories and entry methods, throwing wide the gates of convenience.
Any apprentice could spend a modest amount of points to freely browse and study it, and all creations produced through it would be exempt from any patent fees, provided they met the Association's requirements and specifications.
The moment the news broke, the massive waves it caused went without saying, setting off a chain reaction that even Ji Jue himself had never anticipated. Many major factions and lineages found themselves forced to join the fierce internal race amid frantic complaints, gradually opening up their own foundational theories and lowering their heads to compete for apprentices and a voice in the field.
There were those who condemned it with tongue and pen, those who recoiled in disdain, and those who clapped and cheered.
Yet regardless of the surface reactions, the moves behind closed doors were uniformly identical:
Sneak into an anonymous alternate account, wait for a dark and stormy night, open the Three-Phase Alchemy page, and hit the paid download button.
Who cared about the rest? Let's get a taste of it first!
"Lofty in intent, arduous to master."
Deep within the profound vale cleaved by a gargantuan fissure, the Grand Artificer standing before the crucible looked down at the draft manuscript in his hands. "When I was an apprentice, someone often told me—a treatise reflects its author; a principle mirrors its spirit. Once you've seen and grown used to enough of them, reading a manuscript and its theory is enough to grasp eight or nine parts of the truth."
"Take this, for instance: seemingly humble, yet arrogant beneath; seemingly inclusive, yet thoroughly domineering. The three phases rotate and cycle, outwardly peaceful and balanced, but in truth the premise is split into three, with all three squeezed into one. At the drop of a hat, primary and secondary invert; pressed forward, it turns radical and perilous. To stride along a grand, orthodox path while projecting a fierce, sinister aura no less potent than Stagnant Rot—he is indeed fine jade carved by Tianlu, a true talent of Embers. Regardless of how high his future accomplishments reach, this sheer obstinacy of will alone surpasses countless mediocrities."
Elder Zhen lowered his gaze. Having swept his eyes over the manuscript, he tossed the thesis downward. "All of you, learn from it. If you can pick up even a fraction of that 'who else but me' arrogance, in time, you too might become a great scourge upon this world."
In the momentary stillness, the seekers listening with bowed heads exchanged glances, utterly unable to tell whether the Grand Artificer's words were praise or blame, admiration or contempt.
The student leading them hesitated for a second, wanting to speak, but saw Elder Zhen wave his hand. Daring say no more, he kowtowed, rose, and led the crowd away.
Dimness returned to the grand hall.
Elder Zhen lowered his gaze, his eyes drifting into the void, wandering to places unknown.
Only the flames rising from the crucible behind him cast their light upon him, throwing a colossal black shadow across the floor.
And right at the center of that shadow lay a shocking, massive void. Through that gap, the flames within the crucible surged, shifting and turning, beating in rhythm like an invisible heart.
A muffled, indistinct voice sounded from within the flames.
The emerald fire shone through the emptiness in his chest, illuminating the hall, and at some unknown moment, shifted into a jarring, blood-curdling crimson.
Viscous blood-light continuously expanded and crashed against the confines of the void, thrashing in agonizing struggle amid eternal burning, crying out with all its might, cursing and complaining.
"...What's the rush? How long has it even been?"
Elder Zhen shook his head. "If it failed once, try again. Since we have already touched the realm of imperishability, what harm is there in waiting a little longer?"
Blood and fire surged as a muffled echo surfaced from the crucible once more.
"The vessel of Beigong has fallen, and pulling off a grand deception under their noses is no longer possible. Why cling to it so stubbornly?"
Indifferently, Elder Zhen lowered his eyes to the manuscripts scattered across the floor, and suddenly let out a soft laugh. "Besides, isn't a vessel far superior to Beigong already right before our eyes?"
In the dead silence, no further sound came.
Only the blood-red flames in the crucible flowed without a sound.
Like a ravenous gaze cast toward the mortal realm from the depths of an endlessly falling abyss.
Waiting for the day it would return once more!
Chapter 827